European stocks set to open higher as markets weigh tariffs and Trump comments

Here are the opening calls

Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC's live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Thursday.

Futures data from IG suggest a higher open for European bourses, with London's FTSE 100 seen 0.4% higher, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX up 0.5%, and Italy's FTSE MIB 0.9% higher.

European markets have been on tenterhooks since U.S. President Donald Trump announced last weekend that he would impose a 30% tariff on goods imported from the EU starting Aug. 1. The EU has said it hopes to strike a trade deal before then.

Overnight, U.S. stock futures ticked lower following a winning day for U.S. markets after Trump denied that he was planning to fire Jerome Powell from his position as Federal Reserve chairman.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday as investors assessed the fall in Japan's exports for the second consecutive month.

What to keep an eye on today

Earnings reports are set to come from ABB, Novartis, Investor AB, Volvo, Assa Abloy, SSE, Swedbank, TSMC, Publicis and Easyjet on Thursday.

On the data front, the latest U.K. job figures will be published at 7:00 a.m. London time.